You Are What Your Wand Is Made Of
by Limousine
Summary: Bee is starting Hogwarts armed with a cynical attitude. Born into an over-achieving Slytherin family, she doesn't expect to be too different to them - until she realizes startling similarities between her wand and a certain Dark Lord's...
1. A Very Brief Introduction to Wandlore

Bee had walked into Ollivander the wandmaker's shop in Diagon Alley with her older sister and a mother armed with a new camera, from whom she had been keeping her distance in case that camera began to snap. Mr Ollivander had been helping another customer, and Bee sat on a bench under the grandfather clock that was floating sideways in mid-air and examined her sister Cassie's wand. Cassie was sifting through Bee's new schoolbooks, babbling nostalgically about how she remembered doing these things in her first year at Hogwarts, oh how long ago it seemed, oh how she couldn't believe it had seemed so hard then. Their mother was completely ignoring Cassie's continuous attempts to get her attention, and was instead flipping through a magazine with her shrewd eyes taking in every detail.

Bee was memorizing everything about Cassie's wand to make sure she could compare her new one to it. Cassie's was short and stubby, and this reminded Bee of Cassie in a strange way. Cassie wasn't short and stubby at all; rather she was tall and willowy the same way as Bee, but there was something so _full_ about her, and the way she bounced around so often reminded Bee of a little child.

The wand was also jet black. Bee glanced at Cassie, reminded suddenly of something else about her sister. Cassie was ambitious, and dangerous when something stood in her way. Bee tossed the wand into Cassie's newly bought cauldron, and Cassie turned around almost instantly and swept it up gracefully.

"Bee, if he hands you a dragon heartstring wand, for heaven's sake don't take it, just pretend like it doesn't work, I hear they don't work too well, phoenix tail feather's the strongest, mine's phoenix tail feather, and it's never let me down. Did you Harry Potter's wand was phoenix tail feather? Noel's wand is unicorn hair, I think that's so cute, don't you?" Noel was Cassie's fiancé.

"Voldemort's wand was also phoenix feather," Bee answered darkly. Cassie just laughed.

"Exactly!" To Bee, Cassie's laugh seemed to turn into a cackle as she said this, and when Noel walked into the shop a second later she fell into his arms without missing a beat.

Bee glanced at her mother, as if she could provide some clarification for her eldest sister's inexplicable behaviour. Yanyaa was looking at Cassie, frowning, winding the camera's strap around her finger. She turned to Bee suddenly.

"Your wand will be exactly like Cassandra's," she announced. "A wand's appearance can tell a lot about a person, and you and her are just like each other." After this proclamation she returned promptly to her magazine.

Cassie hadn't heard this comment and was busy dragging Noel out of the store.

"We'll meet you for lunch," she said over her shoulder, the cauldron at her side clanking against the door as it shut behind her. Yanyaa nodded without looking up.

Despite her mother's words, Bee didn't like jet black wands, as a rule. As much she thought it may be a bit superstitious to think that a wand looked like its holders personality, she'd rather hers looked _very_ different to her sisters.

She watched the people at the counter, and realized with a jolt that it was a first year with her parents. Of course it was. She wondered whether she went to Hogwarts.

"Oh dear me, aren't you difficult," Ollivander was laughing, and he handed down a long dusty box. "Try this." Immediately, he turned around and started looking through the rows and rows of boxes behind him, as if he didn't actually think this girl would suit the wand he gave her. Sure enough she pulled it out and it spurted red jets of light in protest and flew out of her hand. Olivander was already ready with another box. Bee saw about a dozen more boxes sitting in a pile on the counter.

"Mum." Bee turned to her mother, who was now sitting on the bench next to her reading _Witch Weekly_.

"Mm."

"Mum, they're going to be a while," said Bee, glancing at the little family again.

"Mm," said Yanyaa again, completely engrossed in the magazine. Bee sighed and watched Olivander frantically look through the shelves, take out one box, shake his head, return it to the pile, and move on. The girl at the counter was laughing as her father joked about her being such a difficult child, and her mother turned then and looked straight at Bee. Bee kept on staring, feeling rebellious. The woman turned away.

Bee sighed again, wishing Cassie and Noel would come back. Yanyaa, who had been through the experience of buying a child their first wand about four times now, not to mention the new wand for Quho when he had broken his last year, wasn't fussing over Bee as much as she would like, and she felt a bit of jealously for the girl at the counter. And then she felt angry for being jealous. And then she felt angry because she didn't want a wand like Cassie's.

She sighed again, more deliberately this time, and the woman at the counter looked over again for a second. Another family came in, two boys and their parents, all chattering happily. Bee's scowl deepened.

"Beatrice, honey, did you know a pleasant expression makes you look thinner?" Hearing her real name, Bee looked up at her mother hopefully, thinking her efforts to get her frustration across had worked. Yanyaa wasn't, in fact, looking at Bee at all, but was reading out from the article she had been reading.

"Gah," Bee replied. She stared at the younger of the two boys, who was wearing Hogwarts robes. Why on earth would he be wearing Hogwarts robes? His older brother was wearing Muggle clothes, as were his parents. Yanyaa noticed this as well.

"Mudblood," she noted quietly to Bee, smiling at the family condescendingly. Bee looked in horror at the boy, who would probably soon be in her classes at Hogwarts, hoping he hadn't heard. She thought he gave them a strange sideways look.

_He probably doesn't know what it means, _she realized. Bee hadn't ever had much contact with Muggle-borns.

The parents of the boy smiled at them, looking just as excited as the boy. Bee wished they wouldn't. They were feeding her mother ammunition.

Luckily, at that moment, the family at the counter said thank you and goodbye to Olivander, and Bee jumped up and practically dragged her mother to the counter. Yanyaa came almost reluctantly, dropping the magazine onto the low table in front of the bench. The boy and his family slipped into their vacated seats, talking quietly.

"Good afternoon!" cried Olivander, looking a bit flustered, waving his wand to put the boxes left over by the last customer away. "How can I help you today?" His eyes fell on Bee. "First-year? Hogwarts?" A tape measure jumped up from the counter and began to measure Bee from head to toe.

"Yes, this is Beatrice," Yanyaa stepped in briskly. The tape measure finished its business and dropped to the floor. "Most of her siblings have phoenix feather, as does her father, so you might like to try those first." Bee blushed. Why did her mother always have to act like she knew more than the experts?

Ollivander winked at Bee. "Must be a coincidence." He turned around and began to sift through boxes. "Wands don't recognize family ties, just –" he pulled out a box and gently placed it in front of Bee – "the individual witch or wizard."

Yanyaa looked annoyed and grabbed the box before Bee could, looking at the label.

"Dragon heartstring, 14 inches, willow, springy," rattled off Olivander, a small smile on his face. He flicked his own wand and the lid flew off the box, and Bee could tell her mother was about to explode. Bee gingerly took the box from her mother's hands and looked inside at the long, thin piece. Yanyaa sniffed haughtily and began to examine photos of Diagon Alley sitting on Olivander's counter, and Bee was glad.

"It's a strange combination, and an unusually long length," said Ollivander. "But then again aren't all wands strange things?" He laughed, turning back to his boxes and sifting through them as Bee picked up the wand, balancing it on an upturned palm and grasping it. Ollivander whipped around, shook his head and grabbed it from her at once, placing another one in her fingers instead.

"Phoenix feather –" he paused to wink at Yanyaa, who managed to look down her nose at him even though he was poised on a ladder above her head. "– 8 inches, hornbeam, rigid." This one was black – without thinking, Bee placed it on the counter. Yanyaa glared at her, about to say something, but Ollivander barely noticed, snatching up the wand and placing another box in its place and turning back to his shelves.

"Unicorn Hair, 10 inches, cypress," he threw over his shoulder. Bee pulled this one out of its box. It was unusually heavy, but somehow very flexible. As she held it, it sputtered white sparks, making her flinch in alarm.

"Oh, wonderful," said Yanyaa, reaching for her money purse. Ollivander paused in his sifting through boxes, but didn't get down from his ladder. Bee weighed the wand in her hand. It was glowing slightly, but it felt somehow…wrong. She frowned. Was this supposed to happen?

"Not quite happy?" asked Ollivander suddenly.

"Of course she's happy," said Yanyaa briskly, but she still hadn't got out her purse, and was looking at Bee intently.

"It's just…I don't think –" Bee broke off, shaking her head.

"No, no, this wand isn't for you then." Ollivander snatched it up and resumed his looking through boxes. "Sometimes the wand chooses you but it is not in your…destiny." Ollivander seemed to come a realisation, pulling out another box and looking at the label, seemingly deep in thought.

He stepped down from his ladder then and opened the box, offering it to Bee.

"Phoenix feather, 13 and a half inches…" He paused, his wide, grey eyes looking intently into Bee's own brown ones. Bee looked back, feeling uncomfortable under his stare.

"What is it?" asked Yanyaa, evidently irritated with the old man.

His gaze unwavering, Ollivander took the wand in his long fingers, and passed it to Bee. It was light in colour, long and so thin it looked delicate. When she took it in her fingers he said quietly, "Yew."

The wand didn't disappoint the expectant atmosphere Ollivander had built. It grew warm in her fingers immediately and a spray of glittering white sparks shot out of the end.

"Aha!" cried Ollivander happily. "Seven galleons that is." He pulled out his own wand and waved it to bring forth some parchment and a bright purple quill, which began to scribble of its own accord. "But I expect…yes, I expect it will be worth much more in its deeds," he added mysteriously. Bee stared at the wand, gripping it tightly in her hands, utterly confused and not knowing how to ask what he meant.

"Hmm," said Yanyaa boredly, pulling out a clattering purse and placing the gold coins on the counter. Bee could tell she was unimpressed by the wandmaker's theatrics. "Come on, Beatrice." Bee felt her mother's long nails dig into her shoulder as she steered her towards the door. Bee clutched her wand, half wanting to turn and demand to know what Ollivander meant, but she didn't dare.

They stepped out into the bright, dusty sunlight, and as the door closed slowly behind them Bee heard Ollivander muttering to himself – "aren't all wands strange things?"

The wandmaker's words echoed in Bee's head the rest of the day, and when she and Yanyaa were sitting in small café eating lunch with Cassie and Noel, Bee considered them, twirling her new wand in her fingers.

"Bee, no wands at the table," said Yanyaa, sipping her tea delicately. Yanyaa didn't eat lunch, saying it was a pointless meal. Bee reluctantly put the wand on her lap and picked up another potato chip, nibbling at it distractedly.

"What's with you anyway?" asked Cassie through a mouthful of salad.

"That loony wandmaker has her all wound up thinking about wands," said Yanyaa flatly.

"I never liked him," announced Noel, always willing to take Yanyaa's side, unaware of the fact that all her children had learnt long ago – flattery didn't work in their household.

"He's a melodramatic old man," sniffed Cassie anyway.

Bee sighed loudly and deliberately.

"Okay, miss drama queen, you're wand is destined for greatness!" cried Cassie defensively. "She's probably taken in by him because she's just like him." Cassie and Noel laughed. Yanyaa slurped the last of her tea and stood without a word, picking up her bag and sweeping out of the café. The other three scrambled to gather their things and follow her, Bee leaving behind her nearly full plate of chips.

That night in her and her mother's room in the luxury room above the Leaky Cauldron, Bee sat on her bed with an open Charms textbook, absentmindedly twirling her wand in small circles as tiny bubbles spiralled out of it. Yanyaa was sitting up in her bed with another copy of _Witch Weekly_.

"Harry Potter's youngest daughter starts Hogwarts this year," proclaimed Yanyaa. She had a habit of droning random facts from her magazines as she read. Bee ignored her, concentrating on turning the bubbles from her wand green and then blue, muttering under her breath. The wand responded to her will so easily she found every spell easy. She had done magic before with her sibling's wands, quite illegally, not that her parents cared much for the law. Those wands had always put up resistance against her. This wand was like an extension of her hand, doing everything she commanded with the barest effort.

"I wonder if he still has that horrid scar," mused Yanyaa. "Harry Potter, I mean." Bee flicked through the book, trying to find a spell that was remotely hard. Did people really have trouble with these? She cut off the bubble charm with a muttered word and a flick of her wand, packing up her charms book and pulling out _Magical Theory_.

"Oh, dear lord, he _does_," sighed Yanyaa. "And his wife still has that awful red hair. With all the appearances they make in magazines you would think they would put in a bit more effort to look good. Not to mention _look _at the camera for once instead of hiding away."

Bee flicked through the book to find the chapter on wandlore, remembering the wand shop from that morning. It was absorbing. There was a lot of information on _Priori Incantatem_, the phenomenon caused by twin wand cores meeting in battle, the most famous example being of Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort's wands.

"Harry Potter's in my textbook," Bee informed her mother.

"Oh no, the Weird Sisters are getting back together," Yanyaa replied.

Bee read a little about the phoenix feathers that made Harry Potter's and Voldemort's famous wands brothers, but her head started to hurt from the confusing terms and she eventually threw the book into her messy trunk and rolled over to sleep. Her eyes were just drooping closed when she heard the rustling of Yanyaa's magazine being put away and her mother muttering something thoughtfully. Her eyes snapped back open and she strained her ears.

"…yew," Yanyaa was murmuring. "Yew and phoenix feather, thirteen and a half inches. Probably just a coincidence…but…_knox_." Yanyaa's wand light went out, and the room was dark.

Bee could barely sleep all night.


	2. Anticipation

Bee watched her brother Quho walk through the seemingly solid wall between platform nine and platform ten, glancing at the clock. There was five minutes until she had to board the Hogwarts Express, and Quho had ordered her to stay and wait until their mother got here. She looked around impatiently, unable to fight a sense of despair, thinking her mother had forgotten it was her first day at Hogwarts. Quho was a fifth year, and Yanyaa hadn't seen anyone off on the first of September since he was a second year three years ago.

Bee stared at the brick wall, leaning on her trolley with a glum expression. She had never been alone in the Muggle world before, and she looked around nervously a few times, glancing down at her own Muggle jeans and sweater to see if she looked horribly out of place. She seemed to be dressed okay in the clothes her mother had bought her. Her father worked for the Ministry of Magic and occasionally had business with Muggles, so he had a good idea of Muggle clothing. Of course, her tiny owl, Hyra, was probably a bit odd, but the Muggles didn't even notice, absorbed as they were in their little phones and laptops.

The day before, Quho had arrived in Diagon Alley from their home in France, and Yanyaa had left to catch-up with some friends in London, saying she would meet them at the train station. Quho was a newly appointed prefect and claimed he had "duties" on the train before they left, to Bee's protests.

Bee rolled her eyes in annoyance. She looked towards the stairway a last time to see if her mother would show up, and then pushed her trolley through the wall.

Emerging on the other side, the first thing Bee saw was Quho with a group of friends, leaning over what looked like some photos and laughing.

"Gah," she said as she pushed her trolley towards one of the train's carriages. She lifted her trunk off the trolley and balanced Hyra's cage in her elbow, keeping it in place with her chin. Hyra chirped in protest as the cage rattled back and forth, but Bee ignored her and kicked the trolley away from the entrance to the train. She heaved her trunk onto the platform of the train and hopped up after it. She pushed past a few students standing in the corridor of the train, pulling her trunk behind her, holding Hyra's cage from its handle on top.

She pulled open the first empty compartment and shoved her trunk into the luggage rack, slamming it into the back in frustration. She hoped it was scratched; it was brand new, and her father had brought it from Africa.

Slumping against the window, Bee watched as children started to say goodbye and get onto the train, the conductor's whistle blowing to indicate the train was about to leave. Parents waved and younger siblings cried. Bee couldn't help but remember she had never cried watching her older siblings get on the train. In fact, the most recent time she had come to see anyone off was Cassie, five years ago, and she had only been 6 years old at the time, not too bothered about school.

Even now, she couldn't bring herself to wonder about Hogwarts. She heard excited chattering and laughter outside her compartment but all she could do was fume at her mother. She wiped away an angry tear and shook her head, as if to rid herself of thoughts of Yanyaa. As much as she wanted to be glad she wouldn't see her mother for a few months, she couldn't help feeling upset that she had never shown up.

"Gah," she said quietly to herself, leaning back in her seat and staring at the ceiling. Her compartment door opened she saw three girls push their way in out of the corner of her eye.

"Can we sit here?" one of them asked. Bee nodded, not looking away from the patterns on the ceiling.

"Thanks," another one breathed. They stowed their things into the luggage rack as the train started to slowly move away from the platform. Bee tilted her head to watch the station slide away, younger children beginning to run to keep up with the train as it gained speed. One of the girls in Bee's compartment leaned out the window and waved; one of the tearful parents outside must have been hers. The other two girls began talking excitedly.

"I'm so nervous, are you?"

"I've never even been away from my parents before!"

"At least you have other siblings at Hogwarts, I'd never even_ heard _of it before I got my letter."

From this, Bee deduced two things. These were first-year girls, and at least one of them was a Muggle-born. Bee squirmed uncomfortably in her chair, feeling the slight tingles of shyness, and turned to face the other girls. They looked back at her, grinning uncertainly. Bee tried to maintain a pleasant expression.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi," said the three girls.

"My names Kay," said one of them, the girl who had waved to her parents. She had jet-black straight hair and Asian features, her eyes slanting upwards and twinkling invitingly. "This is Lily –" she gestured to the red-headed girl next to her, who smiled shyly.

"I'm Jakita." The third girl was in her Hogwarts robes already, and sat in the corner a little away from the other two, who seemed quite close. It was clear she hadn't met either of them before. The Muggle-born. Bee didn't meet her eyes.

"Bee," she told them.

Kay laughed, a fluttering sound that filled the cabin. "Like a bumblebee?"

"Like Beatrice," Bee said. Kay laughed again, and Bee got the feeling she was laughing at her. She turned back to the window as the train pulled out of the station and bright sunlight made her squint her eyes. The girls began chattering again, and Bee half-listened as she watched the landscape fly by.

Less than an hour later, they were joined by two more girls, both of whom laughed at Bee's name as Kay joked about it. They did so good-naturedly, and Bee had the fleeting thought that it was nice to have a group of new friends joking around with you. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but try to squirm out of talking to everyone.

"I'm going to change," she announced, grabbing her robes and pushing her way out of the crowded compartment.

In the aisle, it was chaos. Bee pushed her way through tight bunches of kids, yelling prefects and flying hexes. After changing into her uniform, she made her way back, running into Quho once and scowling deeply at him without a word.

When she got back to the compartment, only red-headed Lily, who had also changed into her robes, and Jakita were there. Jakita was standing, looking through a pocket on the side of her trunk, and Bee was surprised to see she stood nearly a foot over her head. She was strongly built as well, and Bee gave her wide berth as she went back to her seat at the window.

"Everyone's changing into their robes," Lily offered, as if Bee had asked for an explanation of their absence. She was just glad she actually had room to move.

"Mm," Bee said.

"So," said Lily.

"Here it is," said Jakita, turning from her trunk to face the other two, smiling brightly. She was holding a long golden chain with what looked like a golden snitch dangling from the end. As they looked, the snitch unfurled its wings and fluttered them slowly. It evidently wasn't a real snitch, but it was definitely magical. Bee looked up at Jakita, surprised.

"Wow," breathed Lily. "It's beautiful."

"It's been in my family for years," said Jakita, holding the chain up so the snitch fluttered in front of her face. "We could never figure out where it came from or how it worked, until I got my Hogwarts letter. Well, we still don't know where it came from but we know it's magic now. It's a snitch isn't it? For Quidditch." She prodded the snitch with her finger and the wings withdrew.

"Hmm," said Bee.

"My brother plays Quidditch," said Lily. "He's a Seeker, for Gryffindor."

"Gryffindor," repeated Bee thoughtfully.

"I want to learn to play," sighed Jakita wistfully. "I used to think football and basketball were fun but wizarding sports are a whole other world."

"Too bad first-years can't be on the team," agreed Lily.

This triggered a memory for Bee. One of those unsourced facts about Harry Potter's life, the ones her mother read out from her magazines that entered Bee's brain and re-emerged at random prompts. Hadn't Harry Potter played Quidditch in his first year?

"You're Lily Potter," said Bee, before she could stop herself. Lily looked at her feet. Jakita looked from both of them, confused.

"Yeah," said Lily, blushing.

"Oh," said Bee, wishing she hadn't spoken. "I'm Bee Selwyn."

"Okay," said Lily evenly.

At that moment, the compartment door slid open, letting in a rush of noise from outside and seven loud girls, all changed into their Hogwarts robes and yelling over their shoulders at people outside. Kay appeared to be leading them as she pulled them in and slammed the door shut, laughing and panting as she sat down. Bee was squashed into a corner as the compartment once again became too crowded to fit everyone.

"It's a zoo out there," Kay laughed, breathing heavily. The other girls seemed to be giggling uncontrollably. Kay waved towards them. "Some fourth years cast a Cheering Charm or something, they got into a lot of trouble." She peered closely at the girl closest to her, who was stuffing her knuckles in her mouth in an attempt to stop laughing. "Although that prefect _did _say he countered it."

"Hmm," said Bee, although it was lost in an animated discussion of all the jinxes the girls knew. Jakita, Bee noticed, was sitting uncertainly on the side, evidently not having any experiences with jinxes. Bee herself had had plenty of experience with them, having four older siblings, and wasn't keen on sharing many of those unpleasant involvements. She wondered briefly if she should make conversation, then shook her head and resumed looking out the window, where it was growing dark on the countryside.

A little while later the Honeydukes Express lady came along with the trolley, and between the 10 girls in the compartment and mounds of Fizzing Whizzbees, Liquorice wands, treacle fudge and bouncing chocolate frogs, the compartment became unbearable. However, it had become so crowded that Bee couldn't figure out a way to get out from her corner next to the window. Instead she sat wedged next to the window nibbling on a Cauldron Cake, offering an occasional "hmm" to the conversation and speaking only when spoken to.

Eventually, the conversation turned to houses.

"Oh, I couldn't choose one until I'm put in one," said Kay, flipping her hair. Bee thought Kay would dominate any house she was put in. Every girl in the compartment hung on to her every word, and even Bee couldn't help but admire her. She was so confident, and there was something about her that even made Bee give her longer than one-word answers.

"I just hope I'm not Hufflepuff," sniffed a girl in one corner who had an aloof manner, and had to this point made a derisive comment about just about everyone in the compartment. Bee thought to herself she would be really surprised if that girl _was _in Hufflepuff.

"All my family's in Gryffindor," said Lily, who was squeezed next to Bee. _Of course they are_, thought Bee. _Your father was practically the poster boy for Gryffindor_. "But I suppose I could be anywhere." As the conversation grew  
>more heated and the girls jokingly threw Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans at each other, Lily turned to Bee. "What about you?"<p>

"Hmm," said Bee, before realizing this was a question. "Oh, Slytherin. We're all in Slytherin. I mean my family. All four brothers and sisters."

"Four? Wow," said Lily. "Are you the youngest?"

"Yeah," said Bee. "There's only two of us left at Hogwarts. My brothers in his fifth year."

"So is mine!" cried Lily excitedly. "James. The one who's a Seeker. Maybe he knows your brother."

"Maybe," said Bee, thinking, _Quho hates Gryffindors._

The train pulled up at Hogsmeade station an hour later, and the wild chatter in the cabin died down as the train slowed, a solemn atmosphere taking over the compartment.


	3. Sorting Out Doubts

The girls tumbled out of their compartment, following the sound of prefects', "First years! First years this way!"

Bee was jostled along with excitedly murmuring first-years into little boats in the dark lake. The path they took was very overgrown, trees towering over them and leaning into the water. A giant man with a tangled mess of black hair and beard streaked with grey – "That's Hagrid," whispered Lily – led the boats as they started to move on their own across the inky water. Suddenly a weeping willow's leaves parted, Bee guessed with magic, and Hogwarts appeared, towering above the lake, the reflections of its many lit windows glittering in the lake. Bee's heart skipped a beat and a chorus of awed sighed came up from the little boats.

"I've dreamed of this moment for years," gasped Lily from beside Bee. Bee gathered that Lily was a bit of a dramatic. But she still couldn't help feeling a nervous flutter of excitement for the first time since boarding the train, thoughts of her gloomy home whisked away by the wind blowing in her face as the boats gained speed. She heard the sound of the giant man's yelling, and Lily's excited chattering, but she didn't take any of it in, engrossed in fantasies of a new life in this glorious castle.

They soon ducked into a dark tunnel before they reached a rocky underground shore.

When they reached the shore, and the rush of wind was no longer in their ears, the first-years grew silent once again, solemnly approaching the ornate doorway of the castle. Bee saw that the doorway was engraved intricately, making images and spelling names. She had heard from her siblings that it was a memorial of the Great Battle of Hogwarts, where Lord Voldemort was defeated.

"Everyone ready? Better straighten yer ties an' whatnot quick, we're goin' in," yelled Hagrid over his shoulder, his eyes twinkling like little black beetles. The girls around Bee smoothed their hair and straightened creases in their robes as the giant lifted a fist the size of a small dog to knock on the giant doors.

The first years were met inside by another incredibly large man, although, unlike Hagrid, he was short and fat, with a grey walrus moustache and a round belly, which seemed to be bursting out of the shining gold buttons on his old-fashioned waistcoat. He had shiny, interested eyes as he took in the crowd huddled before him, resting on each person, nodding and smiling to himself in a dramatic manner, as if building the tension that rested in each of the student's shoulders.

"Is he going to sort us?" someone whispered near to Bee.

"Firs' years," announced Hagrid. "This is Professor Slughorn. He'll be takin' you in to be sorted. Professor," Hagrid nodded to Slughorn, who inclined his head in return amicably, never taking his eyes off the students.

"Follow me," he boomed, turning into the huge Entrance Hall behind him, followed by the students, Bee nearly tripping over the raised flagstones in the floor, skipping to follow Slughorn's surprisingly quick stride. He led them past the huge doors behind which Bee assumed the rest of the school sat, into a small chamber off the Entrance Hall, where they stood in a tight knot watching Slughorn.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome," drawled Slughorn, surveying the class. "And what a good-looking class of first-years you are." He winked, and a few chuckles relieved the tension. "I am Professor Slughorn, Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts, Potions teacher and Head of Slytherin House. In a few minutes, you will step through those doors into the Great Hall and the Sorting Hat will determine the house you will be sorted into – be it Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff or Slytherin, you will undoubtedly work hard to represent your house well in order to gain house points to compete for the prestigious House Cup, which is awarded to the house with the most points. With your house you will take your classes, spend free time and make friends that will last for life. I personally wish you good luck and hope you enjoy your first year at Hogwarts." His smile grew wider, his skin folding into crinkles around his eyes. "Please wait here until I return to lead you into the Great Hall."

He left the chamber, and muttering broke out amongst the students. Bee gazed around at her peers for the first time. She saw the Muggle-born from Ollivander's shop, and Kay with a captivated audience, describing what she believed the Sorting Hat would do to find out where you went. Many students were quiet, solemnly contemplating their fates as if awaiting the gallows. At one point a hoard of ghosts flew past, deep in conversation, some of them looking surprised to see the alarmed faces of the first-years, exclaiming about how quickly the years flew by.

Bee wasn't sure what she felt. It could be nervousness about being sorted, but she had no doubt in her magical ability, as many others were panicking about it. Also, she was fairly certain she would be in Slytherin. She couldn't imagine another house, let alone _want _be in anything inferior to her older siblings.

Perhaps it was the sense of detachment she felt from the other students. She had been exposed to so much magic from such a young age, and Hogwarts was impressive, but much less so to her, having lived in her family's own castle all her life. She envied the people around her, bug-eyed with excitement. The only thing that made her heart skip a beat was the thought of approval from her family when she got into Slytherin. This fact disgusted her, but she couldn't help wanting to prove herself to her household of over-achievers.

"You okay?"

Bee turned to see Kay standing behind her, her diligent followers looking at Bee earnestly. Bee shrugged.

"Hmm," she answered.

"You just looked really worried, that's all," laughed Kay. "Don't worry about the sorting, Bumblebee, you'll do fine." Bee felt a flash of annoyance at the nickname that had apparently been concocted for her. Kay was smiling brightly at her. Bee suppressed a scowl, wishing Professor Slughorn would hurry up.

"Hey," added Kay as an afterthought. "I bet you'll be a great Hufflepuff – bumblebees are black and yellow, right?" Kay's posse giggled at that – but then again, they were in a constant state of giggling.

"I'd like to be in Hufflepuff," offered Lily.

"Lily! Where have you _been_!" cried Kay suddenly, pulling Lily into her little group. "I was looking for you –" Kay cut off when the door to the chamber flew open, Professor Slughorn's large form silhouetted against the lights in the Entrance Hall.

"It's time," he said melodramatically, offsetting the sombre mood with another wink.

The first-years crowded out of the chamber and into the Entrance Hall, where they stood in front of the massive doors to the Great Hall, behind which they could hear the voices of the rest of the school.

The doors opened as if in slow motion, and the line of students tumbled into the room. Even Bee couldn't hold back a quiet gasp. Hundreds of candles lit the vast room as if it were day, but she knew it wasn't because of the enchanted ceiling above them, showing glittering stars and wispy white clouds. She had heard all about it from her siblings, but she hadn't expected it to be so beautiful.

The first-years had stalled in awe, and Professor Slughorn ushered them forward, in between two tables where they approached the front of the Hall. Bee noticed the hundreds of faces watching them and kept her eyes straight ahead, avoiding their interested gazes. She craned her neck to see over the students walking ahead of her.

Professor Slughorn waddled up a few short steps to a raised platform in front of a long table where the teachers were seated. The line of students stopped, and Lily bumped into Bee from behind.

Seemingly out of thin air, Slughorn produced a short stool and a much worn, pointed hat which he placed on the stool. Bee was surprised. She realised then that she had no idea how she would be sorted, and nerves began to pluck at her stomach. Before she could dwell any further, the brim of the hat opened wide and it began to sing.

She was shocked for a second, and she barely registered what the hat was saying until she caught herself and began to listen, beginning to panic a little.

" –_Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry _

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true _

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_if you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The hall burst into applause, Slughorn's the most animated. When the hall quietened you could hear Slughorn chuckling to himself.

"Very good, very good," he was saying. "Now, when I call your name, step forward, put on the Sorting Hat and have a seat. Abbott, Marie!"

A tiny girl stumbled out of line, one of Kay's followers, and timidly took the hat from Slughorn, who appeared to be enjoying himself immensely. She sat down, her face very pink. Almost immediately, the hat shouted,

"RAVENCLAW!"

A table on the left cheered loudly, making Bee jump. Marie scurried up to the table, where several Ravenclaws moved to make room for her.

"Aile, Ingrid!"

Another girl, tall and blonde-haired, jumped out and grabbed the hat, dropping onto the chair as if in a hurry. The Sorting Hat didn't take heed to her urgency – she sat on the stool for nearly two minutes, her foot tapping away, hands folded tightly in her lap.

"I hope it doesn't take that long with me," whispered Lily. Bee silently agreed. The Hall was still, all eyes on Ingrid. At last, the Sorting Hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" and a table at the far end exploded with cheers. Ingrid nearly ran to her table in relief, and Slughorn was getting more and more excited.

"Blaire, Lisa!"

Lisa Blaire nearly knocked over everyone as she pushed forward to the stool, and Bee recognized her from her compartment on the train, the girl who didn't want to be in Hufflepuff. She got her wish; she was put in Ravenclaw. Looking pleased with herself, she trotted over to the table that accepted her with enthusiastic cheers.

The Muggle-born from Ollivander's shop was next. "Carn, Will!"

Will Carn became a Hufflepuff, and two Gryffindors and one Ravenclaw later, the Sorting Hat shouted, "Hewing, Kay!"

"Go, Kay!" came the whispers of Kay's posse. More than half the girls in the group watched eagerly, all wanting to be in Kay's house. Bee fervently hoped Kay wasn't in Slytherin. She didn't think she could stand being called "bumblebee" for the next seven years.

They became a picture of stillness, Kay and the Sorting Hat. It was as if Kay had bewitched the whole Hall the same way she bewitched all these first-years into shadowing her from the first day. Slughorn was watching intently, nodding to himself again. Kay's eyes were closed, her ankles neatly crossed, hand folded. She looked perfectly relaxed.

Out of the corner of her eye, Bee saw a movement at one end of the teacher's table. A tall, black women in dark green robes was nudging Hagrid, who sat next to her, and the other teachers looked intently at a large hourglass sitting on the table. The top half was more than halfway empty. Apparently, they were timing Kay's Sorting.

Bee's eyes wandered back to Kay, who still hadn't moved. Bee noticed her mouth twitch into a slight smile.

Other students had noticed the hourglass, and the Hall began to fill with whispers.

"Shh…" said Slughorn absently.

"She loves attention doesn't she?" someone whispered near Bee. Bee watched the hourglass, almost empty. Just as the last grains of sand were dropping into the bottom half, the Sorting Hat's mouth flew wide open and it yelled, almost triumphantly,

"RAVENCLAW!"

Ravenclaw were incredibly happy about this, and Kay almost glided over to them, sitting down near the middle as everyone began to talk to her at once.

"Goyle, Rane!" The hall silenced again.

"SLYTHERIN!" shouted the Sorting Hat.

The Slytherins jumped up and cheered as Rane became the first new member of their house. Bee didn't look at them, suddenly more and more afraid. A test of ability, she could do. But putting her fate on a hat? She could be put anywhere!

Patrick Jones was also a Slytherin, and Jakita Kola was put into Gryffindor, followed by Leah Perks, who was put in Slytherin as well. Bee watched her fellow first-years with a growing sense of dread. If she was put into a house she didn't want to be in, could be demand to be re-sorted? Everyone else seemed to be quite happy with where they were going.

"Potter, Lily!"

Lily brushed past Bee on her way up to the stool. As she sat down, Bee found herself hoping she was in the same house as Lily. They had been getting along well.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the Sorting Hat. _Should have guessed_, thought Bee bitterly. At least now if she got into Hufflepuff, she would have a friend.

When her turn came, Bee found herself shaking. She hopped up the steps and took the Sorting Hat from Slughorn, who smiled encouragingly. He was bobbing up and down on the balls of his feet happily.

Bee jammed the Hat on her head, and sat down. The hat was so big the Hall was partially obscured as it fell over her eyes.

_Beatrice_, whispered an unfamiliar voice in Bee's head. She nearly jumped, but she was frozen in place. _Hmm, interesting. Very clever, extremely clever._

Bee gripped the stool tightly.

_But, no, Ravenclaw is not right for you. No, you must be challenged _further_. Perhaps…Hufflepuff._

This surprised Bee.

_Don't think Hufflepuff is worthy of you? _hissed the Sorting Hat. _Think you would do better in Slytherin?_

Bee almost nodded vigorously, but she remembered she was sitting in front of the school. The Sorting Hat seemed to get her meaning.

_Of course you do. However, take heed Beatrice, for you don't want to become what people say you should become. _

Bee swallowed nervously.

_You have a loyal soul, Hufflepuff would embrace you gracefully. No? Very well. Follow your heart, Beatrice, and you will do well in –_

"SLYTHERIN!"

Bee hopped out of her seat instinctively, holding the hat out to Slughorn as if it were infected. The Slytherin table exploded with cheers, and Bee smiled in relief as she approached it. Quho grinned at her as she sat down between newly sorted Rane Goyle and Leah Perks.


	4. Curse the New Day

Bee's first day at Hogwarts started with a bang – literally. She was jolted awake by a loud noise, scrambling up and tearing through the curtains on her four-poster bed. As she pulled aside the emerald cloth she caught sight of the bed next to her – or rather, what was left of it. Feathers were flying, and the mattress seemed to be burnt, black with soot and smoking slightly. On the floor at Bee's feet was Jolie Flint, looking stunned.

"Jolie!" Leah Perks, who had the bed across from Bee, crawled up to an immobilised Jolie. Willa Johnson from across the room said something about getting a prefect and ran out the door. Bee looked on in horror at Jolie, afraid she had been paralysed.

"Jolie?" Bee joined Leah on the floor, shaking Jolie. To her relief, the dark-haired girl blinked a few times and looked around slowly, eyes wide. At that moment, Sally Bulstrode stormed in, pushing Bee and Leah aside to examine Jolie.

"What happened?" she demanded. Jolie seemed unable to answer; she looked like she was about to cry.

"There was this loud noise –" began Leah, but Sally waved her aside, dragging up Jolie by the arms and indicating for her to follow. Jolie looked a bit unsteady on her feet, and Leah and Bee each took one of her arms and half-dragged to the door. Willa was now hovering nervously around the dorm, and she followed them down the stairs after Sally.

The common room was empty. Bee glanced instinctively at the window to see if it was light out yet, but found herself staring at the murky water of the lake.

Hurrying ahead, the three first-year girls pushed Jolie through the exit of the common room, Sally holding the door open impatiently.

In the hallway it was pitch-black, unlike last night when there had been torches lighting the hallway. Sally pulled out her wand and muttered, "_Lumos_", and the dungeon was lit up. Bee hurried to keep up with Sally as her light disappeared around corners. Jolie began to whimper slightly; Willa and Leah muttered consolation.

"Hurry up!" came Sally's impatient shout ahead of them, making Bee jump.

"Slow down," murmured Leah, and Bee groaned as Jolie slumped against her. With a lot of difficulty they managed to get Jolie up the stairs and into the dimly lit hallway in the main castle. Sally was standing at the top of the stairs, tapping her foot impatiently, and swept around the second the girls appeared, panting for breath.

"It's still dark," groaned Willa, glancing out the window. She was now holding Jolie upright from behind; Jolie was completely out, her eyes drooping and most of her weight falling on Leah and Bee.

When they reached the hospital wing, Willa, Leah and Bee were all nearly as limp as Jolie, panting and sweating in their nightgowns from carrying her up the stairs. Sally was already inside standing upright stiffly, knocking briskly on the office next to the hospital wing.

Madam Wainscot, who Bee recognised as the school's matron from the introduction at last nights' feast, burst out, looking hassled.

"Already?" she cried, taking a look at Jolie and helping the girls pull her onto a bed. "The year's only just started!" Bee collapsed onto the nearest bed, along with Willa and Leah, as Sally began to describe the scene of the dormitory to Madam Wainscot, who was poking and prodding Jolie frantically, pulling instruments out of her apron, hmm-ing at Sally.

Jolie was completely unconscious at this point, and Leah and Willa were frantically speculating about what was wrong with her. Something about the way she was completely pale and still, flopping about as Madam Wainscott tended to her, made a chill go up Bee's spine, goosebumps flying across her arms. Sally had stopped talking and was now boredly examining a piece of parchment on the wall outlining the steps for treating burns.

"What do you think, Bee?" whispered Leah. Bee only shook her head, stunned and feeling a tremendously sick as the nurse stuck a long, thick, needle into Jolie's thin, pale arm.

A few minutes later an older woman walked in, holding a bottle of golden liquid; Bee recognised her as Madam Pomfrey, the other matron. Madam Wainscot began to talk to her quietly, and Madam Pomfrey nodded, looking at Jolie thoughtfully. She held up the golden liquid.

"…Professor Slughorn made it last year, that time with Julian Randy…" she was saying. Leah and Willa had gone quiet, and all three girls looked up at the two women. Even Sally began to pay attention.

"She's been cursed," Madam Wainscot said, shaking her head. "In her Slytherin dormitory." Bee felt a stab of fear. Madam Pomfrey turned to the three girls on the bed.

"You three share a dorm with her?" she asked briskly. Bee nodded, and Willa whispered a yes. "Did anyone see what happened?"

"I didn't see, but I heard," said Leah. "I woke up because…" Leah's eyes flickered to the unconscious girl fearfully – "Jolie was calling me. I asked her what was wrong and she said that she was really cold and asked if I had an extra blanket. I got up to pull one out of my trunk and just before I moved my curtains there was this really loud bang. When I looked out she was sort of stunned on the floor."

"Her whole bed was burnt up and smoking," added Willa.

"She was still conscious for most of the way here, but she couldn't walk on her own," said Sally importantly.

Madam Pomfrey nodded at Madam Wainscot, who waved her wand and a quill and paper appeared, jotting notes. Bee looked past them at Jolie, who was perfectly still on the bed, her thin nightgown making her seem tiny. She was barefoot. Bee looked down and realised that none of them were wearing shoes, except Sally, who wore white slippers.

"Sally, could you escort the girls back up to the dorm, please?" said Madam Pomfrey, turning back to examine Jolie. "Breakfast isn't for a few more hours and they could use some rest before their first day of school."

Bee didn't think she'd be getting any rest in the following hours, but she followed everyone else back down to the dungeon, this time the walk taking only a few minutes. Nobody talked, and the sense of dread around the group was palpable.

"Now remember, you are not to leave the Slytherin dungeon unless accompanied by a prefect or teacher," said Sally as they reached entrance to the common room. Bee looked at the prefect warily. She was wearing her badge on her flannel pyjama shirt, and her black hair was swept up in a neat bun despite the fact that she had been woken up in the middle of the night. Sally looked sternly down her squarish jaw to make sure all the girls had gotten the message, and then gave the password so a door appeared in the gloomy wall, swinging open.

Quho was in the common room, along with several other older students. They all jumped out of their seats when the party entered.

"What happened?" Quho asked at once, addressing Bee, who couldn't seem to form any words. "Slughorn came up here a few minutes ago and –"

"A first-year girl was cursed in her bed," answered Sally. The older students gasped collectively, asking questions all at once. Bee blinked at them, unable to take any of it in. Leah and Willa beside her looked just as overwhelmed.

"Hey, stop, guys, they're really tired, look." Quho cut into the sudden noise. "Let them go up to their dorm."

"Everyone clear out," barked Sally. "Its four in the morning, go back to bed." She pushed past the crowd and walked primly up to the girls' dormitories. With a few reluctant looks at the three first-year girls, everyone in the room began to drift up the stairs, murmuring to each other.

"Come on, Bee," said Willa, as she and Leah started up the stairs. Bee looked at Quho and his friends, who were all talking intently. She followed the girls up the stairs.

When they reached their floor, a dark figure jumped out at them, causing Leah to squeal and back into Bee, who nearly fell down the stairs.

"Oh _thank goodness_ you're back!" cried the shadow. "All these house-elves appeared and I had to sit out here and I was _so _tired and –"

"Maeve?" Leah cut in to the shrill voice. The figure stepped forth to reveal itself as a short girl with a black bob framing her somewhat squashed face, hands clasped in front of her.

"You all were just being _so _noisy I couldn't sleep, I hope you don't keep that up through the year, because I need to sleep you know, or I get _so _stressed during the day, and all the bangs and whatever, they kept jolting me awake and whatever…"

Bee tuned out of the speech, watching the fifth person in their dormitory talking too fast to keep up, seemingly unaware that her audience was absolutely stunned, all three with their mouths slightly open.

"What's going on here?" snapped a voice from behind them, cutting Maeve Downing short in her complaint of the burning smell. It was Sally, sweeping down from the floor above. "You have classes tomorrow, get to bed." She ushered them all into their room, despite Maeve's protests about house-elves.

There were no house-elves inside, but it was clear that there had been. Jolie's bed had been fixed or replaced, no evidence remaining of what had happened. Maeve was quick to comment on this, asking why they'd burnt up a bed, before she was silenced by Sally, who snapped the door shut, cutting off light from the hall and leaving them all in the dark for a few more restless hours of sleep with a faint scent of ashes in the air.


	5. Worries

Bee woke up again when light filtered through the wide window next to Jolie's bed. Her window was at ground level, the rest of the Slytherin dungeon beneath it, and the other dormitories above. She rolled over and watched the sun rise over the lake past a short stretch of grass through the crack in her drapes. The rest of the room was silent; everyone must have finally fallen asleep after hours of tossing and turning. Bee guessed it was about six thirty, meaning breakfast would not start for half an hour, but she was too wide awake to sleep for any longer.

She sighed and pulled her curtains open wider. The lake was a sparkling pink-orange colour, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Last night's feast had been invitingly delicious, and she had found herself finally relaxing at Hogwarts, nervousness of the sorting and anger at her mother melting away. Some of the older years had been talking in the common room after dinner, telling the first years about classes, and Bee had been looking forward to getting her timetable this morning.

But not anymore. Now all she wanted was to hide underneath the covers from the image of stunned Jolie sitting at her feet last night, the glazed look of her eyes and the way she seemed to have shrunk in such a short period of time.

She turned away from the window and Jolie's bed, staring at the wooden canopy of her bed. It was a rich dark mahogany, engraved with elegant notches all around the border. The drapes that fell around her were dark green, made of a silky material, and her sheets were a mint colour; her pillow and blanket were her favourite ones from home, soft and worn. When she had gone to bed last night everything had been perfect; she had whispered excitedly with Willa and Leah. She hadn't had a chance to speak to Maeve…or Jolie.

She heard someone moving, and a slight moan as they stretched; the mattress creaked as they got up. Soft, padded footsteps on the dark green carpet made their way around the room. Bee sighed quietly, not wanting to get up. The footsteps stopped.

"Beatrice?" came a soft whisper at the foot of the bed. Bee sighed again, internally. She pulled herself up and crawled to the voice, moving the drapes. It was Leah, standing next to Bee's trunk at the foot of the bed.

"You can call me Bee," Bee said, with what she hoped was a pleasant expression. Willa didn't look as if she had gotten much sleep at all. Her short brown, curly hair was a mess, her hazel eyes tired-looking.

"Sleep much?" asked Willa, managing a slight grin.

"Oh sure, like a rock." Bee rolled her eyes a little, swinging her legs over her bed to sit on her black leather trunk.

"Neither," said Willa, plopping down next to her. "I hope they let us know what happens."

"Mm," agreed Bee. They both looked at Jolie's bed. Bee looked at her watch.

"Still another half an hour to breakfast," Willa said, eyeing Bee's watch as well. "I'm so tired, but I can't sleep at all."

"No, of course not," said Bee. "I just want to get to class to get my mind off it all."

"I don't think I'll be able to concentrate in class either," said Willa, resting her chin on her hands. "It's worse for Leah. She and Jolie have known each other since they were little." She paused. "I'm so scared."

Bee didn't know what to say. There was an uncomfortable silence.

"Let's go down to the common room," Willa suggested at last. Bee nodded numbly. She dearly hoped there was someone in the common room, though she doubted it; it was still very early and it was only the first day of school.

The common room wasn't empty. Sally was sitting cross-legged on a squashy chair near the fire, which was dying down. Bee figured it kept going through the nights of even the warmer months, as it was always a bit colder in the Slytherin dungeon than the rest of the school. The prefect had a book floating in front of her, which she was glancing at occasionally as she scribbled notes on a piece of parchment hovering near her lap. She didn't even notice the two girls come down the wide staircase; in any case, she didn't react to them.

Bee tiptoed to a huddle of couches near the middle of the room, Willa following her, glancing warily at Sally. Bee could tell she, too, didn't really want to talk to the pompous girl at the moment.

"Isn't it a bit early in the year to be doing homework?" Willa breathed when they had both settled down. Bee shrugged.

"She seems like the ambitious type," Bee said quietly. She picked up one of the random magazines on the coffee table and began examining it. It was _The Quibbler_, one of the few magazines even her mother refused to be seen with. She flipped it open.

"Oh, don't believe anything in that rag." Bee jumped a mile in the air, dropping the magazine onto the floor. Sally was standing above them, her parchment and book tucked under her arm.

"Um, yeah." Bee hurriedly picked it up and shoved it back on the coffee table.

"Its published by some blood traitor name Loony Lover, or something." Sally sat primly on the edge of a high-backed chair across the table. Bee was a bit surprised. Calling someone a blood traitor was nearly as frowned upon as calling them a Mudblood these days, even in Slytherin house. "Not to mention," Sally continued, "the utter _nonsense_ about the Minister of Magic being a werewolf." Bee was tempted to ask how she knew what the magazine said if she didn't read it, but decided it would be a bad idea. Instead, neither she nor Willa said anything. Sally eyed them, shuffling her parchment slowly. She was already dressed in her uniform.

There was silence as Willa and Bee fidgeted nervously, both thinking the same thing. Finally Willa cleared her throat tentatively.

"Have you, um, have you heard about – about Jolie?" she asked, and Sally smiled in a way Bee guessed was supposed to be reassuring, but came across slightly scary.

"Your friend is in a stable condition, and she has regained consciousness a few times," recited Sally formally. "However, she is due to be moved to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies this afternoon." Willa's breath seemed to catch for a second.

"St Mungo's?" repeated Bee, with some horror.

"Nothing to worry about!" cried Sally, her voice going painfully high. "They have sent her there in order to figure out the cause of her illness, not to treat her. Well, of course, they will be treating her as well." Bee and Willa stared at her, Sally's grin widening until she had a somewhat crazed expression.

"I'm…I'm going to go change into my uniform," said Willa, standing up slowly.

"Me too," Bee jumped up as well, nearly tripping over the coffee table in an attempt to get to the stairs quickly.

"Okay!" Sally called after them, her voice still unnaturally shrill. "See you at breakfast!"

"Geez," said Willa as they stomped up the stairs. "_She's _the one whose acting cursed."

Bee silently agreed.

Bee, Willa and Leah arrived at breakfast just as the food appeared on the table. There were a few people still scattered across the four tables, who began to tuck in as the three girls sat near the front of the hall. Leah had been changed and ready when Bee had returned to the dormitory, and she had looked relieved to see them both. Maeve was still blissfully sleeping.

Bee grabbed a drink of pumpkin juice, feeling too queasy thinking of Jolie to touch the rest of the food. Draining it in a few gulps, she turned her attention to her wand, which she had left on her dressing table during last night's flight to the hospital wing and their brief meeting with Sally. She kicked herself mentally for being so stupid, making a note to get into the habit of carrying it everywhere.

Willa was quietly filling Leah in on what Sally had said, but Bee didn't feel much like joining in. She peered around the table to see who else was there. Sally was, thankfully, sitting on the far end of the table, near the teacher's table, which was occupied only by Professor Sinistra, the astronomy teacher, and tiny Professor Flitwick. They were talking over bowls of porridge, paying no attention to the students. Closer to Bee on the Slytherin table were a few sixth-years chattering about their O.W.L. results, but more students were now milling in, slowly filling the tables. They were mostly first-years, Bee noticed, obviously awake early in excitement and nervousness. She saw Kay come in, flanked by Lisa Blaire and Marie Abbot, who were also in Ravenclaw, as well as a few girls from Gryffindor. Standing next to Kay was Lily. Bee caught her eye and waved a little. Lily waved animatedly back. Kay noticed as well, waving and yelling, "Bumblebee!" across the hall. The group of girls giggled. Bee smiled weakly, pleased despite herself that she had a nickname that was sticking.

From the eager mood around the Great Hall Bee figured that no one else knew what had happened in the Slytherin dormitory last night, but she was proven wrong when she looked up to find herself, Leah and Willa surrounded by Slytherins of all years, sitting down and either looking at them intently or pretending to be busy eating their toast while evidently eavesdropping.

"What happened?" one third year asked eagerly. The three girls exchanged looks, and Bee could see them all pleading the other to speak. Finally Leah explained in a small voice, while their audience listened raptly. A few more kids joined in and they were quickly filled in, sparking speculation from the whole Slytherin table. The third year who had first spoken looked absolutely thrilled with the mystery. He was a big, bulky boy who looked like he could bulldoze through a block of concrete. His friend, a slight boy with a pale, pointed face and even paler blonde hair, looked more thoughtful, nodding at the large boy's discussion but not joining in much. With a jolt, Bee realised she knew him. He was one of the Malfoys, who were close friends with her parents.

"Excuse me!" came a familiar shrill voice. "Let me through please!" Maeve came pushing through the group of Slytherins and plopped down at the table in front of Bee, shoving two second-years aside. The animated discussion turned into mutters as the crowd began to disperse. "Hey girlies!" cried Maeve happily, piling her plate with sausages.

Bee ignored her, craning her neck over the now-crowded Great Hall to look for Quho. She wanted to know what he made of the situation.

"So!" said Maeve through a mouthful of toast. "Why didn't you girlies wake me up? I've been missing out on all the excitement!" Bee spared a glance at Willa and Leah, who were looking a bit annoyed with Maeve. Neither of them was eating anymore, although Willa's bowl of cereal was still half-full. Maeve didn't seem to notice – she continued to babble on happily about how she couldn't decide whether or not to wear her emerald necklace for the first day of class.

"Quho!" cried Bee suddenly, spotting her brother. He noticed her and held up a finger, mouthing "just a minute". He turned and started to talk to Professor Slughorn, who was holding a pile of paper. He nodded as Slughorn handed him half the papers, and then began to walk down the table handing them out to the first-years, all of whom were sitting at the same end of the table.

"I'll talk to you later, Bee, real busy right now," he said as he handed out papers to her and the other Slytherin girls.

Annoyed, Bee looked down at the paper. It was her timetable.

"Ooh! Goody!" cried Maeve. "We have Charms first! How _cute_!"

Bee couldn't see how this was remotely cute, but she was glad of it. She could already do every spell in the first three chapters of her Charms book. Feeling a little less depressed, she grabbed some toast and began to spread strawberry jam on it, just as dozens of owls swooped down into the hall.

A letter fell neatly in Bee's lap and her mother's light gold owl, Xanthe, settled next to her plate.

"Here, Xanthe," cooed Bee, peeling some crust off her toast and offering it to the owl. Xanthe pecked at it with a black beak and hooted indignantly, ruffling her feathers and taking flight again.

"Pretty owl," Leah said to Bee, tearing open her own letter. _A pretty owl with attitude_, thought Bee, frowning at how similar Xanthe was to her mother.

Stuffing the last bits of toast into her mouth, she picked up the envelope. It was made of rich, heavy, off-white parchment and sealed with her family's coat of arms. On the back was her name, written with shiny black ink in her mother's perfect cursive;

Beatrice Pandora Selwyn

Bee snorted, ripping it open so it deliberately ruined the formal writing. Inside was the same handwriting.

Dearest Beatrice,

Your Father and I were immensely pleased to hear that you were sorted into Slytherin House. We hope that you will do your family and your house proud.

To show how delighted we are that you have followed in our footsteps we have enclosed 10 galleons for you to use at your leisure.

Remember, focus on your studies and stay out of trouble. We will see you during the winter holidays.

Love from,

Mother and Father

P.S. Cassandra and Noel also send their congratulations.

Bee shook out the envelope, and a bulging brown leather pouch came jangling out. She looked into the envelope. It must have been enchanted to fit the monstrosity that now sat next to her plate.

"Whoa, what the hell is in there?" said Leah, staring at the pouch. It was quite obvious, of course, that it was filled with money – the bulges were rounded and it made a loud jangling noise when Bee hurriedly stuffed it in the inside pocket of her robes.

"My parent's congratulations for getting into Slytherin," said Bee defensively, folding the letter carefully and putting it back in the torn envelope.

"Your parents send you a small fortune as congratulations?" asked Willa, leaning over Leah to look at Bee. Bee felt her cheeks go warm. She realised ten galleons was a lot of money, but it didn't occur to her when she had grown up seeing thousands of gold coins in her parent's vault at Gringotts.

"I'm going to go…get my Charms textbook," mumbled Bee, gathering her letter and jumping up from the bench. She kept her eyes on the ground as she started to walk to the Entrance Hall and nearly ran into Professor Slughorn.

"Miss Selwyn!" boomed Slughorn, rubbing his belly. "I was just looking for you. Now where are the other girls from your dormitory?" Bee opened her mouth to answer, but Slughorn spotted them at once. "Miss Downing, Miss Johnson, Miss Perks!" He waddled past Bee to the three girls, Bee trailing after him reluctantly. The entire Slytherin table was openly staring at them, and Bee kept her eyes on the ground.

"Yes, Professor Slughorn?" shrieked Maeve eagerly, jumping up at once.

"If you three – and Miss Selwyn here – could follow me, please," said Slughorn.

"Is it about Jolie?" asked Leah hoarsely as they left the Great Hall.

"Well, yes," said Slughorn, his features taking a reassuring look as he glanced at Leah. "Your friend is very ill, and we would like to get to the bottom of this unfortunate incidence."

"Oooohh, I think I might cry," swooned Maeve dramatically, immediately latching onto the mood of the situation. Slughorn shot an amused look in her direction as he heaved his massive self up the first flight of stairs. The girls followed in silence, apart from completely random comments from Maeve such as "I just _love_ knights in armour!" and "Professor, do you think it would be distracting for Quidditch players if the grounds were pink?"

The doors to the hospital wing were shut, but Slughorn gave one of them a gentle push and it swung inwards. There was an eerie aura in the wing, and even Maeve fell quiet as they made their way to a bed at the edge of the room.

Jolie was bone-white and thin as a stick. The hollows of her eyes were purplish and bruised looking, and her lips were dry and cracked. She looked as if she'd been sick for weeks, not a few hours. There was a thick needle inserted into her arm, slowly squeezing a yellowish liquid into her skin.

Bee looked away, her breakfast threatening to make a reappearance. Leah fell back on the bed behind them, looking faint, and Maeve began to make strange sighing sounds. Willa was shaking her head slowly.

"You girls can have a seat," said Professor Slughorn, looking troubled. "I'll be back in a minute." He shuffled off to the door behind which was the matrons' office. Bee sat down next to Leah, who was staring at her friend with wide eyes. Bee kept her own gaze on the floor.

" – only getting worse," came Madam Pomfrey's fretting voice before the door flew open.

"The Healers from St Mungo's will be here in half an hour." Bee swung around, hearing the authoritative tone of voice behind her. It was the Headmistress, Professor Marchbanks, followed by Madam Pomfrey and Slughorn. She was a very tall old woman about whom everything was extremely neat – her hair, her posture and even her speech. She looked at the first-years huddled around Jolie's bed. "Ah, girls. Please have a seat, Miss Johnson, Miss Downing." Willa sat next to Leah, who didn't look up from Jolie's gaunt face, and Maeve settled precariously on the edge of Jolie's bed.

Professor Marchbanks pulled up a guest chair and sat down facing the four girls. "I realize this is very difficult for you," she began, looking at each of them in turn. "But you _must _tell me everything you know about what could have happened to Miss Flint, or _who _could have possibly cursed her." The girls nodded, Leah tearing her eyes away from Jolie as if with a great effort to look at the Headmistress. "Now, what happened?"

Bee automatically looked at Leah, as did Willa and Maeve. Leah swallowed, and told the Headmistress what she had told Madam Pomfrey the night before. When she was done Professor Marchbanks was frowning, her wrinkles arranging into a crease between her eyebrows.

"Do any of you have anything to add?" she asked the other three, who were silent. "_Anything_? Miss Selwyn?" Bee shook her head.

"I only woke up when I heard the noise," she said hesitantly. "But…when I first saw Jolie I thought she may have been paralysed. She was stunned or something." Professor Marchbanks looked disappointed.

"No matter," she said, standing up. "If you remember anything else don't hesitate to come tell me – or better, Professor Slughorn here." Slughorn inclined his head towards them. The Headmistress swept around and glided out of the room.


	6. Potions and Pygmy Puffs

Bee was falling asleep in Charms, her restless night catching up with her. The rest of the class was practising their basic wand movements, Professor Flitwick urging them on with "swish and flick!" correcting the way they held the wands. When she had heard they weren't starting any spells for a few weeks, she had promptly put her head on her desk and let her eyes droop closed.

"Miss Selwyn!" Bee straightened to see the tiny professor standing over her. "Let me see your _swish and flick_!"

"Yes, sir," said Bee, suppressing a yawn as she pulled out her wand. She gave it a wave, the same way she had been casting spells for years.

"Wonderful, wonderful!" cried Professor Flitwick. "Excellent technique!" He moved on to Rane Goyle, whose wand was sputtering sparks in protest as he waved it violently.

The Slytherin first-years headed off to Potions next, and they were joined by Hufflepuff. Many of Bee's classmates were very happy about this; a sniggering Rane Goyle said that they barely need to make an effort to be top of the class, and Maeve shrieked with laughter. Bee shot a look at Rane, doubting he would come anywhere near the top of any class considering the way he could barely wave his wand properly.

Still, Bee was looking forward to Potions. She'd had bits of practice with wands but her parents had never let her near the potion's ingredients.

Professor Slughorn was greeting each student amiably, some by name. He beamed at Bee as she walked in.

"Miss Selwyn!" he said. "I forgot to ask you earlier! How is your sister, Cassandra? She was one of my best Potions students, you know."

Bee knew this very well, having listened to it her whole life. "She's well. She's working with the International Potions Association." Slughorn looked genuinely thrilled at this.

"Wonderful, wonderful!" he cried, seeming to swell. "I taught her myself, you know. You _must _tell her to write to me. Well, hurry along to your seat."

Slughorn called the roll, booming questions when he saw a familiar name. At last he turned and began to pass around basic potion's ingredients, asking students to consult their _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi _and write what each one was. Bee scribbled them all down, barely looking at her book.

"Excellent!" he cried when they had checked their answers –"Perfect, Miss Selwyn, 5 points to Slytherin!" – And then, "Wonderful! We have just enough time to whip up a simple Cure for Boils, which is the first potion in your textbook. You must get into pairs." Bee felt dread in her chest as Willa and Leah quickly claimed a desk, and Maeve paired with Rane Goyle. She didn't know anyone else here. Beginning to panic, she glanced around.

"Partner with me, Bee?" came a voice next to her. Bee turned around to see Lily, flaming hair tied back, holding her cauldron with a potion's kit inside.

"Yes," said Bee, relieved. "Your cauldron or mine?" Lily shrugged, so Bee hoisted her cauldron onto the flame.

She flicked her wand so her _Magical Drafts and Potions_ flew open to page 19. They read over it together, and then Bee turned around and began measuring out snake fangs into the mortar.

"Bee," said Lily quietly.

"Mm," said Bee, grinding her fangs in the mortar.

"Everyone's staring at us."

Bee looked up in horror. It was the second time that day she had snapped to reality to find all eyes on her, and it wasn't suiting her. She felt herself go warm and tried to concentrate, her horned slug slipping from her fingers as she tried to put it in her cauldron.

"Here," said Lily, turning up the heat. She rolled her eyes as she tapped out ten seconds with her wand. "As _if_ nobody from Hufflepuff and Slytherin has ever been friends before." Bee felt pathetic for blushing again at the word "friends" and quickly turned back to the potion, trying not to catch anyone's eye.

She didn't look up again until all her ingredients were stewing, and only then to taking a quick look at everyone else's potions to see if her's was okay. To her annoyance, her potion was a little too much on the greenish colour to be as perfect as some of the others she saw.

"It's coming out well isn't it?" said Lily, smiling encouragingly at Bee. Bee didn't answer, silently blaming the failing potion on Lily.

When the potion was ready, however, Bee felt bad and offered to clean up. Lily just laughed and picked up a cloth, wiping the counter clean. Bee began to put her things back in her potion's kit, setting aside Lily's, who swept them into her own. Slughorn came by and swept up some of their potion into a vial.

"Hmm," he said, examining it. "Could be a bit less green." And he moved on.

"Bee, you should have just asked to join us," Leah said grimly. "I'm sure Slughorn wouldn't have minded, it was only the first day." Bee just poked at the salad in her plate.

"Plus, she completely made you muck up your potion, it went a funny bogey colour, didn't it?" added Maeve unhelpfully. Bee gritted her teeth in annoyance.

"That wasn't Lily," she said, getting to her feet. "I over stewed the slug because everyone was _staring _at me."

History of Magic, despite all the older Slytherins' warnings, turned out to be a very interesting class. Professor Binns was an old ghost who stood and talked at the front of the class with barely any introduction. Bee, feeling a little alienated from the rest of her class, who were bonding by whispering about how bored they were, ferociously scribbled down notes about the founding of the Ministry of Magic.

She was flipping through her book to find the name of the first Minister for Magic when a paper airplane landed on her desk. She stopped what she was doing and looked around. Maeve was nodding eagerly at her. Bee felt the urge to scrunch up the paper, but she was too curious.

_Bee,_

_Don't worry about what everyone else says. I'll make sure they forget it soon._

_But I'd prefer you stay out of that Hufflepuff's way, seeing as I'm supposed to be friends with you, and it's embarrassing._

_Bundles of love,_

_Maeve_

_xoxoxoxox_

Bee stared at the note, a sole thought going through her head. _Since when have I been friends with Maeve?_

She turned to look at Maeve, whose smile only grew wider. Bee realised with a start that she was being genuinely nice.

Quho, however, was a different story. He cornered Bee in the common room after dinner.

"Please tell me the rumours aren't true," he pleaded in a whisper.

"Please tell me _you_ aren't as immature as all these other kids."

He scowled, then pulled up a leather ottoman opposite her.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he settled into the seat.

"I'll survive my encounter with a real live Hufflepuff, thanks," said Bee sarcastically.

"You won't," retorted Quho. "Anyway…that's not what I meant. I meant about the girl who got cursed in your dormitory." Bee sighed, leaning back in her couch and gazing up at the mahogany-etched ceiling, which looked remarkably similar to the canopy of her bed. She had been trying to drive Jolie out of her mind all day – it was the reason she was still sitting in the common room instead of heading up to her bedroom, even though she had nearly fallen asleep in the puffy armchair.

"I have a horrible feeling –"

"Bee!" Maeve interrupted, grabbing Bee's arm and half-dragging her off the couch. "You _must_ come up to our room! I have to show you what just came in by owl-order!" She began to giggle as Bee protested weakly, as if this were some sort of inside joke between them. "Come _on._" Bee looked at Quho apologetically, and he only gave her an amused look. She let herself be dragged up the stairs.

Willa and Leah were in their pyjamas, sitting on Leah's bed with their heads together, expressions grim, speaking in low voices. Bee could guess what they were talking about.

"So!" cried Maeve as soon as she walked in, making Leah and Willa look up in annoyance. "An owl just came here, like, five minutes ago." Maeve strode over to her bed and picked up a handful of brown wrapping paper. "It brought this!" She held it out for everyone to see.

Reluctantly, Bee hovered over to get a closer look. What seemed to be a bright pink ball of fluff was sitting in the nest of wrapping paper. Suddenly a few bits of fur shifted to reveal big, black, blinking eyes.

"A Pigmy Puff!" squealed Maeve.

"Its…" Bee tried to look enthusiastic. "It's…cute." The word felt funny in her mouth.

"It's _adorable_! I'm naming you _Adorable_!" Maeve swooped down to kiss its furry head, falling back on her head and squealing at the poor pet, which was cowering beneath her fingers. Maeve was completely lost in admiring her gift, so Bee slipped back to her bed and pulled the drapes closed around her. She changed into her pyjamas and lay down, answering through the drapes whenever Maeve's shrill questions were aimed at her. Bee was too tired to tell her off, and she had a feeling that an offended Maeve would be worse than a happy one.

"Oh, Leah, don't tell me _you're_ going to bed too?" Bee heard Maeve say. "And _you_ Willa? But _who's _going to keep me company?"

"Um, Adorable?" Willa's voice was dripping with sarcasm. Maeve didn't seem to notice, she was too busy complaining how boring everyone was.

Finally, the room fell quiet. Maeve put her lamp out and only the dim glow from the moonlight outside filtered through tops of the drapes. Bee had felt so tired she was sure she would fall asleep straight away, but now it was quiet her mind began to reel. She fell into a disturbed sleep well into the night.

It was several weeks before Bee heard about Jolie again. She hadn't spoken about her to Leah or Willa again, although she was sure the two of them had spoken to each other; they would spend all their time with their heads together, muttering conspiringly. Quho hadn't broached the topic again either, and Bee felt as if she would explode from keeping it inside her.

She was in Potions, paired with a sullen-faced Drake Zabini. Lily was with another Hufflepuff, and Bee hadn't spoken to her since their first Potion's lesson. Zabini didn't do much, which was why Bee always paired with him. She didn't like sharing the credit for her potions.

"Perfect, once again!" cried Slughorn, squeezing a drop of her Laughing Solution on a droopy-mouthed toad. The toad immediately began to shake, bobbing up and down, bubbly croaking noises coming out of its open mouth. "I suppose you figured out the trick with the unicorn horn?"

"Yes, sir," breathed Bee, flushing with pride. Professor Slughorn began to speak again, but he was interrupted by a loud knock on the door.

"Yes, come in!" said Slughorn. A fifth-year Ravenclaw walked in, holding a piece of parchment.

"Um, Leah Perks, Willa Johnson, Beatrice Selwyn, and Maeve Downing, please go to the hospital wing after this lesson," he read off the paper, glancing around the classroom quickly. Bee's heart stopped as she processed the names. There was only one thing this could be about. The image of gaunt-faced Jolie that had been nagging the back of her mind throughout this time suddenly flashed in front of her.

"Thank you, Mr Boot," said Slughorn, waving him out of the room. "As I was saying, Miss Selwyn, you _must _join me and some other students for tea Saturday evening next week."

"Of course, sir," said Beatrice, forcing a smile. As soon as Slughorn moved on to the next table her eyes flicked to Leah, who was looking a bit pale.

"Why doesn't he invite me?" complained Zabini, who had spent most of the lesson meticulously crushing asphodel root, which Bee could have done in under a minute; when Bee had added the crushed root into the potion, he had sat and flicked through a moving comic about _The Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle._

"Maybe you should have crushed that asphodel a bit finer," Bee suggested earnestly. Zabini just shrugged.

The hospital wing smelled like very strong disinfectant, the stench stinging Bee's nostrils.

"There you are!" Madam Pomfrey bustled into the room as soon as they had set foot inside. "She's just over there." The matron gestured to a bed near the window before hurrying back into her office.

"Jolie," cried Leah with relief, hurrying over to her bed. Jolie was sitting up and gave them a weak smile. She still looked thin, but her eyes were bright. Bee felt as if a huge weight had been taken off her shoulder's seeing the girl she had, she thought a bit guiltily now, almost given up for dead.

She paused next to the bed. She had spent the last few weeks fretting over Jolie, and now she realised she didn't know her at all. In fact, the Jolie that haunted in her head has been so prominent she had almost forgotten she was a real person as well.

"Oh, Jolie, I've been _so _worried!" cried Maeve, pushing Bee aside to stand next to the bed. Bee regained her balance by leaning on the wall and raised an eyebrow at Maeve, who was chattering to Jolie about how much she had missed her. Bee couldn't recall Maeve showing a shred of thought for Jolie in the past few weeks. Jolie was nodding weakly, but Bee couldn't tell if it was because she was still sick or if Maeve was just wearing her out.

"I'm okay, really," Jolie was saying as Leah fretted over her, pulling extra pillows from nearby beds. Willa was telling Jolie what she had missed, and Bee felt the need to say something, but she couldn't fit in a word between the other girls. Mostly she was dying of curiosity, but it seemed rude to ask Jolie what had happened when she lying in a hospital bed.

Bee was almost glad when Madam Pomfrey came back, insisting the girls leave to give Jolie some rest. Bee watched as the others said goodbye, and when they finally moved aside she lingered before she stepped forward to say something to Jolie.

Jolie, however, had leaned back into her pillow and fallen asleep. Madam Pomfrey herded Bee out the door, and Bee was left standing outside the hospital wing alone.


	7. Returning to New Habits

When Bee first walked into Slughorn's office she had a moment of panic thinking that maybe she was the only first-year there. Then she noticed Kay, sitting at the round table set up in the middle of the room. Her panic turned to annoyance, but she slipped into a seat next to Kay anyway, glad of a familiar face.

"Hey, Bumblebee," said Kay quietly as more people sat down. Most of them seemed to know each other well, obviously having been part of Slughorn's little club previously. Bee knew all about his collection of students, of course. Her sister Cassie had been one of his favourites.

Slughorn came in a while later, heaving himself into a chair and booming out hellos to everyone.

"Well, I suppose you're all hungry!" he said after a few moments, waving his wand so plates of food appeared in front of everyone. "Dig in!"

Bee looked down at her plate. It was piled with roast chicken, pasta and green salad. She poked at the pasta with her fork.

"Better enjoy your food if you want to come back for more next week," Kay whispered to Bee. Bee glanced at her. Kay innocently popped a salad leaf into her mouth and looked at Slughorn raptly.

"My first-year girls!" Slughorn addressed the two of them. "Welcome to the Slug Club! I'll tell you all now, Miss Selwyn here is at the top of my first-year Potions class! Aren't you Beatrice?" Bee couldn't answer, because she had stuffed pasta into her mouth as he spoke. Slughorn didn't seem to mind. "And Miss Hewing, she can cast one good Confundus Charm, I'd watch out for her!" In the same breath Slughorn began talking about how he had met the Minister for Magic just before term started.

Kay easily joined the conversation, and Bee was left nodding along. She ran her thumb up and down her wand underneath the table, a habit she had found herself falling into when she was nervous. As conversation drifted, she began to think back to Jolie, who was returning from the hospital wing that evening to re-join the girls in her dormitory. Bee still hadn't spoken to her since she got back, not having the nerve to go up to the hospital wing by herself.

"Miss Selwyn!" she heard Slughorn say, and she snapped back to reality. "Do I recall you telling me your sister is in the International Potion's Association?"

"Um, yeah," said Bee lamely. Slughorn beamed at her.

"Excellent, excellent!" chuckled Slughorn. "And what's she been working on lately?"

"Well, um," Bee faltered. She had no idea what her sister was doing. "She's just apprenticed to a Potion's Master right now, so she's hasn't been doing any independent research…"

"Ah, yes, of course!" Slughorn looked delighted with Bee, and she couldn't figure out why. "I'm sure she'll be progressing up the ranks fairly quickly, I might even lend her hand, so to speak, I know a few people working there…" He winked at his sixth- and seventh-year students, who were suddenly looking doubly interested in what he had to say. Bee drank some more pumpkin juice.

Jolie had just gotten back when Bee trudged into the Slytherin common room later that night, barely able to walk as she was so stuffed with food she had kept on eating when she didn't know what else to do with herself.

Bee edged towards her along with all the other students, who were clamoured around where she sat near the entrance of the room, bursting with questions.

"Don't bother," Jolie was saying, looking somewhat pleased with herself. "I don't remember a thing."

"Nothing?" insisted Scorpius Malfoy. His friend, Rane Goyle's older brother Darcy, looked severely disappointed. Jolie shook her head, amusement flickering across her face. Malfoy scowled, and dragged his friend away. Slowly everyone else walked away too, and Bee came a little closer to stand next to Willa.

"How are you?" asked Willa worriedly. Jolie simply smiled and flipped her hair over her shoulder. She appeared to be a lot healthier than when Bee had last seen her, the flush returned to her cheeks. If you hadn't known she had been ill you wouldn't have noticed the dark patches beneath her eyes.

"I'll survive," she said, and Leah joined in her laughter as if they were enjoying a joke. Then they promptly put their heads together and began to whisper, in a way reminiscent of Willa and Leah just that morning. Bee gave Willa a sideways glance. She was looking a bit alarmed.

"Come on," said Bee, walking over a nearby table and pulling Willa along with her. "You haven't finished your History of Magic homework yet, have you?"

Willa kept glancing at a giggling Leah and Jolie as they wrote their essays on the life of Uric the Oddball. Knowing perfectly well what Willa was thinking, Bee did not broach the subject of Jolie.

While Willa became a bit subdued over the next few weeks, and Jolie was drifting into the background with a much more boisterous Leah, Maeve was exactly the same. She took Adorable, the Pygmy Puff, everywhere, hung around with Rane Goyle and occasionally Scorpius, Darcy and other third-years. She shrieked excitedly at Bee whenever she saw her. Bee avoided her at all costs.

So when Maeve came running up behind her on the way to one of their flying lessons the next day, Bee looked around wildly for an escape, and, finding none, put on a grimace and hoped Maeve would leave quickly.

"Bee!" Maeve caught her arm and panted as she caught up. "Oh, I'm so glad I found you! Rane's been skiving off Flying, I think he's a bit too heavy for the school's old Shooting Stars, needs something specialised, but anyways, I've been so lonely on the way up and -" Bee tuned out as Maeve continued to talk, barely taking a breath as they reached the rest of their class, milling around Madam Hooch with their broomsticks in hand.

Bee grabbed a broomstick at random and hurried into the group of first-years before Maeve could catch up. She glanced over her shoulder in paranoia; Maeve was preoccupied in picking a broomstick that was "up to her standards" as she had said their first lesson.

"Right!" said Madam Hooch, clapping her hands for attention. "Now you all have a feel for a broomstick, let's get on to some real flying!" This was met by some cheers and excited talking. "Quiet please! Now flying is not an easy matter…" Bee looked up at the clear blue sky, only half-listening. It was perfect flying weather and she was itching to get on the broomstick, even if it didn't come anywhere near the standard of her Mercury at home; it was an American-made broom built for the speed needed for the game of Quodpot, which she had discovered when visiting her cousins in Michigan last year. She had been extremely reluctant to leave it behind when coming to Hogwarts, to the point that she almost decided to throw a tantrum in the style of Cassie to get her parents to use their connections to let it in. In the end, her dignity had prevailed and she had left it mounted in its special place in her room.

The students around her began to move, pulling her out of her thoughts. They were standing in a line, mounting their brooms. Bee shuffled over to stand next to Willa.

"What are we doing?" she whispered, mounting the knobbly old Shooting Star.

"Going up," Willa grinned at Bee; it was the first time Bee had seen her genuinely excited for something. "_Not higher than ten feet_," she added in an imitation of Madam Hooch.

"Not that these brooms will let you go higher than that," said Bee, rolling her eyes. Willa laughed, her eyes shining.

"When I blow my whistle!" said Madam Hooch, observing the posture they had been practising for the past few lessons, and correcting some people along the line. Bee glanced up and down at the Gryffindors. She only knew a few of their names - Slytherins didn't have much contact with that house. She saw Jakita Kola from her train compartment, looking determined halfway down the line.

There was a shrill blow of the whistle, and Bee shot into the sky as fast as her old broom could go, grinning into the wind that blew into her face. She heard Willa whoop next to her, and she turned to her, neck and neck with Bee. Laughing at her, Bee pushed her broomstick further up, higher and higher until it began to vibrate and wobble in protest. Steadying herself, she hovered a little lower where Willa had stopped and was watching the class below.

They were a lot higher than 10 feet in the air, but Madam Hooch didn't seem to be too worried about that. She was busy with the number of injuries that had taken place, as half the class seemed to have fallen off their broomsticks. Bee quickly swept a look around; only a handful of them were still in the air; her and Willa were level with a Gryffindor boy whose name Bee didn't know, and Jakita was a little wobbly but managing to stay quite high up. There were several others who had evidently flew brooms before; Maeve was taunting some Gryffindors who had fallen over, floating above them as Madam Hooch quickly separated them into those who needed Madam Pomfrey and those who didn't. She was joined by many of the Slytherins. A few Gryffindors were shooting back and forth a way off, testing the brooms.

Bee laughed again, enjoying the view, then shot off towards the lake, whipping around to head back when she reached the edge. It didn't quite work out well, however, as the broom she was riding wasn't anywhere near as smooth as her Mercury, and it gave a mighty jerk, nearly throwing her off. She grabbed it before it flipped over, trying to steady it.

"This is amazing!" Bee looked up to see Jakita hovering neatly in front of her, face lit up with happiness. "Hey, Bee!" Bee beamed at her despite herself.

"Hey," she said, warily remembering her encounter with Lily in Potions. But she felt different here; here, she was thirty feet up with her class preoccupied below her, and if they glared at her she could fly out over the lake where they couldn't catch her. So she said again, with more enthusiasm, "Hey!" Jakita laughed.

"This is so good!" she nearly squealed, trying to twist around and nearly losing her balance. She laughed even more, looking nearly giddy with excitement.

"Wait until you try a _real _broomstick," Bee told her. "These school ones may as well be used to clean the castle compared to some better brands."

"Really?" Jakita looked at her enthusiastically. "What's a good broomstick like? I'm going to ask my parents to get me one!" She whooped with excitement and went into a shaky dive before floating back to the class. Bee floated there for a minute, alone, observing her classmates.

She realised with a jolt how much she enjoyed watching Jakita laugh on her broomstick. She was having so much_ fun_. Bee had spent her first few weeks at Hogwarts stressing over Jolie and forcing herself to talk to classmates. Even Willa, who was feeling a bit cut after Leah and Jolie became joined at the hip, seemed to be enjoying herself, laughing along with the few Slytherins who were now sporting injuries and showing them off.

Bee frowned at herself, and had an inexplicable wish that she wasn't in Slytherin. She didn't seem to be able to get along with any of them like she had with Jakita or Lily.

But then, she thought as Madam Hooch began to yell at her to get back, she would probably sulk around in those houses too. With an exasperated sigh, mostly at herself, Bee reluctantly floated back to her classmates.

As the weather began to get colder, the girls in Bee's dormitory fell sick one by one. Bee managed to keep the flu at bay for a few weeks, but right before the holidays, as the other girls got better and Jolie, still a bit weak, returned after a particularly bad bout from the hospital wing, Bee was caught sneezing in Transfiguration and was sent up to Madam Pomfrey at once by Professor Smithson, leaving her barely-transfigured matchstick behind.

She trudged up the stairs with her bag feeling increasingly heavy and her head feeling woozier until she came up to the hospital wing, which was more full of students than she had even seen. There appeared to be extra beds crammed in temporarily, all of which were full.

"Flu, dear?" Madam Pomfrey asked as she swept towards Bee. She didn't give her time to answer, however, as she waved her wand to conjure another bed, led Bee to it, stuck a thermometer in her mouth and moved to the next bed. Bee looked around tiredly and saw Lily lying in a bed across the room, reading a book. Before she had time to dwell on this, however, Madam Pomfrey was back, pulling the thermometer out and glancing at it with a tutting noise.

"Better stay here for a couple hours rest, dear," she said to Bee, who gladly kicked off her shoes and lay back in bed as the matron attended to another student who appeared at the door. She watched dimly as another bed appeared next to her, and slowly felt her eyes droop until she fell asleep.

She was gently shaken awake later, slowly lifting her head, which felt like it was full of stuffing, to find the hospital wing quiet and the sun setting outside the window.

"Still feeling sick, dear?" asked Madam Pomfrey, setting a tray of food on the bedside table. Bee nodded wearily. The matron set Bee's pyjamas on the foot of the bed. "Change into those. This latest strain's worse than a few weeks ago and my improved remedy won't be finished brewing for about an hour." Bee nodded again and Madam Pomfrey pulled the curtains closed around her to change.

When Bee pulled the drapes back to get her food the room was almost completely dark, and a candle on her bedside table was lighting up her food. She looked around to see some other students eating quietly in a subdued kind of way, while many others were fast asleep.

When Bee was halfway through her soup, Madam Pomfrey returned with a goblet of steaming liquid. "Finish that before taking this," she instructed Bee. "It'll leave you feeling too drowsy to do anything but sleep."

And sure enough, seconds after she had drained her cup, Bee fell back on the pillows and dozed off.

The next morning she was visited by Willa, who talked about how the Flying Class went and watched the Quidditch tryouts for Slytherin. Later in the day Drake Zabini came up, sullen-faced as always, with some Potions homework from Slughorn.

"Slughorn's punishing me because I didn't know a thing about the Potion we made today," he complained to Bee.

"That's because you never do any work," Bee pointed out hoarsely, her throat still sore. Zabini looked unperturbed, as she had said this to him many times in the past.

"He also says he misses you and asks if you'll marry him," he retorted.

"I'll be back to save you on Friday," she laughed tiredly.

When Bee woke up again it was late Thursday morning, and most of the hospital wing was empty. The extra beds had disappeared and there were only the usual ones made up around her. She got up slowly, testing her strength. Deciding she felt much better, but a bit groggier than usual, she got up fully and pulled the drapes around her bed to change into her school robes, which were sitting, folded and washed, at the foot of her bed.

"How are you feeling, dear?" Madam Pomfrey said when Bee emerged from her bed. "Better? You can leave now if you want, it's lunch time. You are also excused from your classes today, so _please _go rest in your common room, no running around outside and - Oh, hello, Headmistress, how are you?" Bee looked around the matron to see Professor Marchbanks striding into the hospital wing.

"Well, thanks, Poppy," she said briskly. "Is it alright if I have a word with Miss Selwyn here?"

"Yes, yes, of course," said Madam Pomfrey, moving aside to an occupied bed at the end of the room. Bee lowered herself onto her bed again, wondering what this was about. Marchbanks pulled up a chair and sat next to Bee's bed. Then she pulled out her wand and gave it a flick, to no apparent effect.

"I've just put a charm around us that prevents others from hearing what we're saying," she explained. Bee must have had an alarmed look on her face because Marchbanks continued reassuringly. "The reason I'm telling you I've done this is so you are comfortable discussing anything with me you may be hesitant to say within earshot of others."

"I - um - " Bee was at a loss for words. Professor Marchbanks smiled at her comfortingly.

"Though there is every chance such a spell is not needed," she added. Then her angular features gained a more serious expression. "I'm here to talk about Jolie. I've already had this discussion with each of the other girls who were present during her incident individually." Bee felt an unpleasant knot in her stomach. The Jolie incident was something she had put behind her in an attempt to finally find her footing at Hogwarts. She had even made friends in the time since her return to health.

"I know you might not want to talk about it," continued Marchbanks. "But it is imperative that you give me _any _indication of what, or who, might have done that to her, so that I know any possible dangers to other students at Hogwarts, because it is my job to make this school a safe place."

"I don't know," said Bee, ashamed at how weak she sounded. Professor Marchbanks looked at her intently.

"From what the Healers at St Mungo's discerned with their testing, it was wand magic that cursed her, not an object or magical creature," said Professor Marchbanks finally. "That is why the idea is so dangerous." Bee frowned at her, wondering what she was implying.

"It…" Bee faltered, afraid of offending the imposing Headmistress. She plucked up her courage and started again. "It wasn't any of the girls in our dormitory." She said this with what she hoped was the conviction she felt, because she was absolutely sure none of them had done that to Jolie. To her surprise, Professor Marchbanks smiled, albeit a little sadly.

"I'm sure it wasn't," she said. "It was far beyond the ability of any first-year student, anyway." Professor Marchbanks stood up, flicking her wand so, Bee assumed, the charm around them disappeared. "Thank you for your time, Miss Selwyn. I hope you recover well from your flu." And she swept around. Before Bee knew what she was saying, she called out to stop the Headmistress. Marchbanks turned around, her eyebrows raised expectantly.

"Do you think you'll find out what - what happened?" Bee asked. Professor Marchbanks considered her for a second.

"We may never know what happened to Jolie," she said seriously.


End file.
